Many mircroelectromechanical system (MEMS) scanners are actuated with electrically driven comb drive structures. One problem that comb drive scanners may suffer is that the inertial and stiffness loads cause deformation of the combs resulting in a variable comb disengagement along the length of the comb. The variation in comb disengagement results in a reduced efficiency of the comb drive. Stiffening of the comb structure to prevent bending is a common approach to address this problem. However, this results in additional inertial mass of the moving parts with an attendant increase in the needed drive power causing difficulty in controlling frequencies of ancillary vibration modes. Another approach is to increase the amount of comb disengagement so that all combs will achieve a full amount of disengagement in order to minimize the effects of variable comb disengagement. However, this approach comes at a cost of increased drag and reduced drive efficiency.
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